They change parts every year so you would just "have" to buy another car from them if they break down and you have no spare parts to fix them with. That's Detroit management for you.
Speaking of Detroit management - around the time I graduated (not too long ago), I went to interview at GM and Ford. I was amazed that they were actually proud of the fact that their manufacturing process is now "so good" that they "only" have a +/- 5% variation. And they basically explained that it means if a trunk door was 5% longer or shorter than it should be, it would still be acceptable for delivery.
I interviewed with a manager (unbeknownst to me, it turned out the chief design engineer for Jaguar at the time, but he didn't divulge this information until later), and he asked me what he thought about the latest Jaguar lineup. By that time, I have pretty much decided against taking any offer they were going to give me, so I said "Jaguars nowadays look like expensive Tauruses with leather." He was taken aback, but I found out later that he thought it was a refreshing point of view, as opposed to the many Yes Men that he had working for him who drove nothing but American cars their entire lives (unlike me who drove a sissy Subaru at the time). But the point is - even he knew that they needed some fresh blood to inject some new ideas into these dying dinosaurs. Oh well. Too little too late.
Most companies operating in the world have to pay off government officials in one way or another in order to operate successfully. Why should it be any different here?
It's mostly just poor journalism. Tabloid-style journalism is more than rampant in Asia.
In Hong Kong and Taiwan, where there is a free press, you'll see all sorts of bad journalism. My mother-in-law often points to articles that she sees about how certain foods will provide certain nutrients or whatnot, but cites no scientific findings or evidence and sounds completely hokey. These articles sound like B.S. to anyone with an average scientific education. But what does it matter, she'll believe it. Just like a healthy majority of people in the U.S. will believe supermarket tabloid stories. The Taiwanese press can be often seen exaggerating crimes that happen in Mainland China to dissuade people from visiting. It works too. My entire family of in-laws from Taiwan is totally scared away from going to China, thinking they'll be poisoned or kidnapped or something.
When I worked at Fred Meyer as a teenager, we were told a few things:
- We can't stop anyone unless we actually see them stuff merchandise into their pockets/bags. - If the item taken from the store is visibly determined to be less than $50, let it go. - Otherwise, chase, but don't run too fast as to attract aggression from the accused, as far as the end of the parking lot. - Security leaves at 6pm on weekdays. They don't work weekends. No videos are taken in any part of the store.
One time my luggage was rerouted to another city, but was found in time and it was available for me to pickup by the evening of the same day. When I went to pick it up, I went to the customer service counter at the luggage area, where 5 "gainfully-employed" uniformed individuals were sitting around yakkin away the day. I see that my luggage is sitting right outside the counter along with 20 other bags, presumably other lost and found bags. I told them that I saw my bag, and they said "OK, great. Go ahead and take it."
No questions were asked. No IDs were requested. I could have taken all 20 bags of luggage with me without any airline worker or security getting wise about it. This was literally just 30 feet away from the taxi dropoff of a large international airport of a large American city. How trivial it would be to place something dangerous without any scrutiny whatsoever.
Last time that happened to me, I just took it back to Office Depot (and it was a big honkin $80 laser toner cartridge too). I was prepared to make a big scene in order to make them take it back, but they just let me grab the right model and let me be on my way even though the merchandise was already opened. Props to Office Depot for that one.
Oil goes on the global market pool. Almost everyone buys from the global market pool. Despite embargoes against places like Libya, Iraq and whatnot, we've been continuously buying oil from them since the very beginning.
Imagine getting into a bar fight and by way of a freak accident, you kill a man with a single punch. Do you think that you deserve to get locked up for life?
No, you would go through a swashbuckling adventure with a den of thieves while being transported between prisons, run slow-motion with a huge explosion behind you, and come crash-landing right in the middle of the Vegas strip - just like Nicolas Cage did.
Why not? All the Europeans who couldn't hack the diseases which thrive in these cities would have died off and have been out of the gene pool. The ones who could hack it stuck around and reproduced some more. Seems pretty clear to me.
But why not go all the way? Let the Indians do the actual voting! Many Americans don't care anyway and with a population about 5 times bigger the participation is bound to skyrocket. And, (tongue-slightly-in-cheek) Americans pick the wrong guys...
India is the only major country in the world that has a favorable impression of Bush.
Re:Americans traveling to other countries.
on
E-Passport In the Works
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· Score: 2, Interesting
This, of course, runs contrary to the common view that American workers are lazy and unproductive. However, there is an interesting catch. Because workers in the US tend to put in more hours than their European counterparts, the rankings change when you look at productivity per hour worked.
Norwegians lead the world with an output of $38 per hour worked last year. French workers were in second place, averaging $35 an hour, the report said. Belgians were third at $34, followed by Americans at $32.
Today's China is the ultimate capitalist's paradise. Hardly any labor laws or environmental regulations are in effect or enforced. Pretty much all of China's large cities (> 2-3M people) are clogged with overpopulation and smog from all the factories.
Why do you think Philip Morris/Altria can continue to have record profits and growth despite paying billions in litigation in the states? The answer is 9-year-olds in China smoking their way to premature emphysema and pneumonia.
At the very least, the medical crisis which looms over China will probably cripple long-term economic development, if not the nation completely, in probably less than 50 years.
This, of course, runs contrary to the common view that American workers are lazy and unproductive. However, there is an interesting catch. Because workers in the US tend to put in more hours than their European counterparts, the rankings change when you look at productivity per hour worked.
Norwegians lead the world with an output of $38 per hour worked last year. French workers were in second place, averaging $35 an hour, the report said. Belgians were third at $34, followed by Americans at $32.
Sugar Land, TX - I remember reading an article about this place in Newsweek or something some years back. Apparently, it's so conservative there that they drove out all the movie theaters or something like that to protest the "war-protesting" Hollywood. Funny how movie theaters are also banned in Saudi Arabia.
Olathe, KS - been there on a business trip. Wow...you can see 360 degrees around you. Lots of aerospace jobs there, though.
Bellevue, WA - a friend's house went from $250K to $430K in the first 6 months of this year alone. Crazy. Downtown Bellevue has at least 4 skyscraper condo developments undergoing right now. If you think traffic is bad in downtown Bellevue now, wait until it gets clobbered with 3,000 more people, each trying to get around in their BMWs.
Also, if you ever get the chance, try vegetarian Chinese food in a Buddhist monastery (in Asia). Some of their canteens are open to the public, and you make a "donation" after you're done eating. Good veggie food there too.
Last I read, Seattle and Portland are the only places left in the U.S. where real estate is still going up sharply - so I think people know we're here and are coming in droves.
When I lived in Redmond 2 years ago, I saw a sign down the street that said "New Townhome-style condos - starting in the low 800's!". Yikes.
Slashdot Mirror
...tax friendly...
Doesn't Texas (don't know about Tennessee) have really high property taxes? Enough to offset the savings in the initial purchase of the property?
They change parts every year so you would just "have" to buy another car from them if they break down and you have no spare parts to fix them with. That's Detroit management for you.
Speaking of Detroit management - around the time I graduated (not too long ago), I went to interview at GM and Ford. I was amazed that they were actually proud of the fact that their manufacturing process is now "so good" that they "only" have a +/- 5% variation. And they basically explained that it means if a trunk door was 5% longer or shorter than it should be, it would still be acceptable for delivery.
I interviewed with a manager (unbeknownst to me, it turned out the chief design engineer for Jaguar at the time, but he didn't divulge this information until later), and he asked me what he thought about the latest Jaguar lineup. By that time, I have pretty much decided against taking any offer they were going to give me, so I said "Jaguars nowadays look like expensive Tauruses with leather." He was taken aback, but I found out later that he thought it was a refreshing point of view, as opposed to the many Yes Men that he had working for him who drove nothing but American cars their entire lives (unlike me who drove a sissy Subaru at the time). But the point is - even he knew that they needed some fresh blood to inject some new ideas into these dying dinosaurs. Oh well. Too little too late.
Well, Columbus-era Europeans would have been terrified at the subversive polyphony of J.S. Bach. It's all relative.
Consider for a moment - all the items you listed above were actually the norm of civilization before the founding of Christendom.
"Yeah, Doc. All the best stuff's made in Japan now."
"Unbelievable!"
Most companies operating in the world have to pay off government officials in one way or another in order to operate successfully. Why should it be any different here?
It's mostly just poor journalism. Tabloid-style journalism is more than rampant in Asia.
In Hong Kong and Taiwan, where there is a free press, you'll see all sorts of bad journalism. My mother-in-law often points to articles that she sees about how certain foods will provide certain nutrients or whatnot, but cites no scientific findings or evidence and sounds completely hokey. These articles sound like B.S. to anyone with an average scientific education. But what does it matter, she'll believe it. Just like a healthy majority of people in the U.S. will believe supermarket tabloid stories. The Taiwanese press can be often seen exaggerating crimes that happen in Mainland China to dissuade people from visiting. It works too. My entire family of in-laws from Taiwan is totally scared away from going to China, thinking they'll be poisoned or kidnapped or something.
Starting 2008, US Citizens cannot leave the country at all without a passport ($90-$100).
When I worked for a big box, I was told to not have any physical contact with the accused.
Pinned down on the sidewalk? Does this formerly pinned-down individual and his lawyer own your store yet?
When I worked at Fred Meyer as a teenager, we were told a few things:
- We can't stop anyone unless we actually see them stuff merchandise into their pockets/bags.
- If the item taken from the store is visibly determined to be less than $50, let it go.
- Otherwise, chase, but don't run too fast as to attract aggression from the accused, as far as the end of the parking lot.
- Security leaves at 6pm on weekdays. They don't work weekends. No videos are taken in any part of the store.
One time my luggage was rerouted to another city, but was found in time and it was available for me to pickup by the evening of the same day. When I went to pick it up, I went to the customer service counter at the luggage area, where 5 "gainfully-employed" uniformed individuals were sitting around yakkin away the day. I see that my luggage is sitting right outside the counter along with 20 other bags, presumably other lost and found bags. I told them that I saw my bag, and they said "OK, great. Go ahead and take it."
No questions were asked. No IDs were requested. I could have taken all 20 bags of luggage with me without any airline worker or security getting wise about it. This was literally just 30 feet away from the taxi dropoff of a large international airport of a large American city. How trivial it would be to place something dangerous without any scrutiny whatsoever.
Security, my ass.
Every day at lunch, you see 15 guys surrounding 1 girl walking their way to a restaurant. The girl(s) seem to be doing just fine in such cliques.
Last time that happened to me, I just took it back to Office Depot (and it was a big honkin $80 laser toner cartridge too). I was prepared to make a big scene in order to make them take it back, but they just let me grab the right model and let me be on my way even though the merchandise was already opened. Props to Office Depot for that one.
HP Ink for a DeskJet model - $20 / 11 milliliters = $1.82 per milliliter
Dom Perignon - $145 / 750 milliliters = $0.19 per milliliter
Oil goes on the global market pool. Almost everyone buys from the global market pool. Despite embargoes against places like Libya, Iraq and whatnot, we've been continuously buying oil from them since the very beginning.
Imagine getting into a bar fight and by way of a freak accident, you kill a man with a single punch. Do you think that you deserve to get locked up for life?
No, you would go through a swashbuckling adventure with a den of thieves while being transported between prisons, run slow-motion with a huge explosion behind you, and come crash-landing right in the middle of the Vegas strip - just like Nicolas Cage did.
Why not? All the Europeans who couldn't hack the diseases which thrive in these cities would have died off and have been out of the gene pool. The ones who could hack it stuck around and reproduced some more. Seems pretty clear to me.
But why not go all the way? Let the Indians do the actual voting! Many Americans don't care anyway and with a population about 5 times bigger the participation is bound to skyrocket. And, (tongue-slightly-in-cheek) Americans pick the wrong guys...
India is the only major country in the world that has a favorable impression of Bush.
here
This, of course, runs contrary to the common view that American workers are lazy and unproductive. However, there is an interesting catch. Because workers in the US tend to put in more hours than their European counterparts, the rankings change when you look at productivity per hour worked.
Norwegians lead the world with an output of $38 per hour worked last year. French workers were in second place, averaging $35 an hour, the report said. Belgians were third at $34, followed by Americans at $32.
Today's China is the ultimate capitalist's paradise. Hardly any labor laws or environmental regulations are in effect or enforced. Pretty much all of China's large cities (> 2-3M people) are clogged with overpopulation and smog from all the factories.
Why do you think Philip Morris/Altria can continue to have record profits and growth despite paying billions in litigation in the states? The answer is 9-year-olds in China smoking their way to premature emphysema and pneumonia.
At the very least, the medical crisis which looms over China will probably cripple long-term economic development, if not the nation completely, in probably less than 50 years.
CNN story quoted by Arstechnica
This, of course, runs contrary to the common view that American workers are lazy and unproductive. However, there is an interesting catch. Because workers in the US tend to put in more hours than their European counterparts, the rankings change when you look at productivity per hour worked.
Norwegians lead the world with an output of $38 per hour worked last year. French workers were in second place, averaging $35 an hour, the report said. Belgians were third at $34, followed by Americans at $32.
With more vacation and less working hours per week, the French were more productive workers than Americans
Sugar Land, TX - I remember reading an article about this place in Newsweek or something some years back. Apparently, it's so conservative there that they drove out all the movie theaters or something like that to protest the "war-protesting" Hollywood. Funny how movie theaters are also banned in Saudi Arabia.
Olathe, KS - been there on a business trip. Wow...you can see 360 degrees around you. Lots of aerospace jobs there, though.
Bellevue, WA - a friend's house went from $250K to $430K in the first 6 months of this year alone. Crazy. Downtown Bellevue has at least 4 skyscraper condo developments undergoing right now. If you think traffic is bad in downtown Bellevue now, wait until it gets clobbered with 3,000 more people, each trying to get around in their BMWs.
Vegetarian Indian food...yummmmm.
Also, if you ever get the chance, try vegetarian Chinese food in a Buddhist monastery (in Asia). Some of their canteens are open to the public, and you make a "donation" after you're done eating. Good veggie food there too.
Last I read, Seattle and Portland are the only places left in the U.S. where real estate is still going up sharply - so I think people know we're here and are coming in droves.
When I lived in Redmond 2 years ago, I saw a sign down the street that said "New Townhome-style condos - starting in the low 800's!". Yikes.
Or a subversive filmmaker like Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct), who has degrees in math and physics.